Good stuff. While I don't know the whole picture, it does suck seeing some of the less popular guys getting $10,000-$20,000 a fight. Now, whether or not that includes additional money based on PPV buys, sponsorships, etc., who knows how much that is (rhetorically speaking). But you take that amount and subtract training expenses and other stuff, and these guys aren't making much money for putting their lives at stake.

If MMA was ran like boxing, which is what all the whining about money comes from. MMA would of already been dead and gone. Its a spectical. There's only so much interest youre going to get for two grown men punching each other in the face. Without all the bells and whistles. MMA is a none sport. Cant expect a fighter, a guy who punches people in the face for a living, to understand anything that extends beyond that

Dana did it right. The people on the bottom end of the totem pole are always going to complain about the guys at the top. Ken is trying to justify his own bad choices by placing blame on Dana and company. He was bad with money. And this is his bed

While I agree that fighters should be getting paid much more, I cant help but think that Shammy is making a big leap from having 10 fights in the UFC and now having enough to retire on to then murdering people and going to prison because of it. Seems to me like thats not so much a problem of fighter pay as it is someone being a murderous asshole to begin with.

kyle223 - Good stuff. While I don't know the whole picture, it does suck seeing some of the less popular guys getting $10,000-$20,000 a fight. Now, whether or not that includes additional money based on PPV buys, sponsorships, etc., who knows how much that is (rhetorically speaking). But you take that amount and subtract training expenses and other stuff, and these guys aren't making much money for putting their lives at stake.

My question is tho how many of us would really watch or attend a show headlined by "less popular" fighters?... I have been to many local shows and watched plenty of unknown fighters..the avg fan (non hardcore) will not spend $$ to see these guys... and there in lies the problem... to make huge money you have to be a great fighter or a great personality

Dana rewards fighters that aren't even the best fighters, assuming they work their ass off and please the crowd, finish, etc. Bonner for example.

That being said, is the next big promotion or the guy after Dana going to do that?Doubt it. The system they set up will eventually backfire, and the two groups that will suffer are the fighters and fans.

And tbh, I disagree completely with the philosophy. Junior Seau's dedication to the game of football most likely killed him, despite the fact he...and a lot of other players... could have retired a long time ago.

MTomlinson - Series of bad points by Ken, who clearly doesn't understand capitalism.

anything's value, or a fighter's value, is worth ONLY and EXACTLY what someone else is willing to pay for it, not what Ken THINKS should be paid.

it's the Fertitta's business. They're not forcing anyone to sign any contract.

Finally, someone gets it!

And LOL at all the people treating fighters like they're gullible little children who are being forced against their wills to fight and risk their lives.

Here's a newsflash - most MMA fighters are reasonably intelligent adults who willingly and enthusiastically choose to compete in a dangerous sport. No one is forcing anyone to fight. Fighters can retire at anytime and go be doctors or dentists or drywallers or electricians or any number of other less dangerous occupations.

If these fighters choose to fight in the UFC for, say, $5k or $10K, who are you to say that it's too low?

Keep in mind, far more often than not, it's the fighters who are BEGGING Dana and the Fertittas to sign them and have them fight for the UFC. Fighters want badly to be on the UFC platform and to have the opportunity to fight on Fox or PPV. They want the opportunity to make that Anderson Silva money, to be famous and to be a big deal in the clubs, to have massive blue chip sponsors and to have that big MMA school.

Give the fighters some damn credit. If the UFC was so bad, they wouldn't be there. They'd pull up stakes and leave for greener pastures.

The UFC has done nothing but constantly reinvest into the sport. Outside of Paquiao and Mayweather the top boxing guys make roughly the same as the top MMA guys. If you want to compare bottom and upper middle level fighters I'd rather make with the UFC is paying than what Bob Arum is offering. And feel free to post the actual transcript of Dana's Stanford comments instead of just paraphrasing what you think he was trying to say.

Othello - So a persistent undercard fighter in the UFC has 10 fights and he can retire for life? Seriously Shamrock?? I wonder how many NFL players making the league minimum can play a couple seasons then retire for life? Or MLB,NHL..... any professional sport for that matter.

IDK why people insist on making blanket statements when it comes to UFC pay and the people it effects.

Othello - So a persistent undercard fighter in the UFC has 10 fights and he can retire for life? Seriously Shamrock?? I wonder how many NFL players making the league minimum can play a couple seasons then retire for life? Or MLB,NHL..... any professional sport for that matter.

IDK why people insist on making blanket statements when it comes to UFC pay and the people it effects.

I'll go out on a limb and suggest that all of them could.

Well be prepared for a very hard fall.

If you gave me 1.5 mil and said I would never receive another paycheck again, I'd make it work.

Obviously you don't follow football, the league min is not even close to 1.5 million. Nothing is funnier then people who post but never check the facts.

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